Everything Loved in November

November always holds a special place in my heart. It is the month that Scott and I started dating. November also really kicks off the holiday season with fall decor already in full swing and Christmas decor that shows up around Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is a special time of year for my family to all gather at my parents home and for all to be reminded of everything we are thankful for. We lost my uncle this summer and my brother is away at bootcamp, so we sure did miss those two dearly. One of my best friends Jessi, from high school got married, another best friend Jenny, had her first baby and our sweet Neice Danica turned three! It was a very enjoyable month.

ZipFizz! I can not say enough about this product. I simply love it and am just about addicted to it! My best friend Shelly introduced me to it back in October and I have absolutely hooked since. Zipfizz is an all-natural, healthy energy mix, with only 10 calories, no sugar, and 2 net carbs. "It contains 25 nutrients that give an energy boost usually in about 15 minutes. It is “the healthy alternative to energy drinks, sports drinks and coffee.” Zipfizz transforms water into a healthy, energizing performance drink" without the crash. My favorite flavor is Orange Soda!
The Nutcracker Market! I wrote about that here last year. This year I came home with some beautiful large faux poinsettias for my Christmas tree, a new jacket and beautiful scarf, a calf sized leather cow hide for our ottoman, some Christmas presents for family and a whole lot more decorating ideas!

Everything Loved in July

July was HOT! We spent some time relaxing by one of my girlfriends parents pool on two separate weekends, getting both bathrooms in the house painted--Nomadic Desert by Sherwin Williams, and several evenings out with my girlfriends for girls dinners.

I live about 2 miles from a brand new Premium Outlet Mall that was built in Cypress, TX a suburb of Houston. This outlet mall has many fine stores that I enjoy shopping at and conveniently for me I can go after work instead of on the weekends with all the crowds, which I enjoy and am able to just hit up a couple of stores at a time. The last time I went was this month and I went to one of my favorite stores, the Corningware/Pyrex Store. I bought me this Corningware 20oz Soup Mug, used it the other day and just LOVE it! As most of us know, Corningware is such a great and durable product. This soup mug is just another one of those, great products. It holds just as much soup as you would want and the handle on the side makes it very convenient to hold and to take it anywhere to eat. The lid that comes with it is great too, for reheating, onion soup to make sure the all the cheese melts and store for later use.
I love foam soap! I use the antibacterial kind from Bath and Body Works in our kitchen and I just recently bought us new foam soap to use in the bathrooms. Bath and Body Works has finally come out with foam soap in my favorite fragrance, Aromatherapy Hand Foam Soap in Eucalyptus Spearmint. I have loved this fragrance probably since it has come out years and years ago. I have it in just about everything they have made; candles, body wash, lotions, room spray, wall outlet diffusers, etc. This foam soap is fabulous!

So This Is What You Call A Sale???

I was at one of my favorite stores today, Tar Jay (Target) and did my usual browsing; I go to Target probably at least once a week during my lunch break to kill time, see what's new on the shelves and racks or when I have a small grocery list of items. This was actually my second trip to the store this week, I was making a return from something I bought on Tuesday (side note: Targets return policy, ohh no, that's a whole other story, don't get me started). Ok, so I made my return, then went to browse the other part of the store that I did not look at on Tuesday. I came across these really cute, short sleeve, light weight summer sweaters (I wanted to buy one in almost every color). The advertised sale price read SALE $17.99. I thought to myself, well damn, what is the regular price on this adorable, hardly even worth $17.99 dollars worth of fabric, sweater? I then looked at the tag and it reads $18.00. WTF!! That is not a sale by any means!!! Come on now, are you serious Tar Jay?. I put down the not so cute anymore sweater and walked on. I will wait for a real sale or clearance before I even think about buying that again! Ugh...

Everything Loved in March

Ohh March, where did you go? It was a very busy month for the Jacobs and we continued to get a lot done around the homestead including finally finishing painting the kitchen and breakfast room; color is Whole Wheat by Sherwin Williams.

March brought me one of my favorite things all year long.....Daylight Savings Time Begins, which began on Sunday, March 8th this year! I was so happy to turn those clocks ahead one hour and enjoy the sun in the evening for another hour longer! Daylight Savings does not phase me a bit when it comes to sleep or 'loosing an hour'. My motto is, 'you can sleep when your dead or go to bed an hour earlier, but quit your bitching'! I am loving being able to come home when the sun is still out, shinning with all it's brightness and glory. It is so nice to come home and be able to do some yard work, grill in the backyard, or go for a long walk, in the light, not the dark! I truly feel like I get so much more done around the house or when running errands when the sun doesn't go down until 9pm! I am completely in love with Daylight Savings!
We finally decided on our bar stools for the bar. I picked up two of these lovelies, Black 29" Saddle Stool, from Garden Ridge Pottery, buy-one-get-one-half-off, for a total of $60 bucks. I had been debating now for sometime what kind of stool I wanted for the space that we have under the bar. At first I wanted something that had a back on it and could swivel, a little more fancy. But with much consideration of the space there and our future with kiddos, I decided on these and I am very happy with my decision. They are casual, comfortable, and stylish in a rustic kind of way. I might go back and get a third, but for now, two is great! **05/20/09 I did go back and buy a third; Garden Ridge had them on sale for 25% off, so I got one more for $25.00 instead of $40.00! I love having three there!**
We also finally bought five Queen Palms for our backyard at Home Depot. We bought the 7 gallon size when they had them on sale and have planted them along the backside of our fence in the backyard. Right after we moved into our house last year, I had a vision of what I wanted and I am so pleased that a year later I got my palms and we have them planted! I am so glad the hubbs let me have my way with these and he too now loves the look of them. And I want to THANK him so much for digging those huge holes in our hard as wood ground so we could get them planted. They look great, will grow fast, produce some shade, have a great feather like look to them and will really make a statement when they get bigger. I will post pics of them in our yard soon!

Can We Say...It's RODEO time again in Houston!?!

Wahoo! It is exactly that time of year again; where people from all over the state and country come to Houston, TX to celebrate the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo!

RODEOHOUSTON is ranked as the world’s largest rodeo and invites only the top cowboys and cowgirls in the sport to compete. Reliant Stadium, the home of RODEOHOUSTON, is the only stadium of its kind built specifically for rodeo and football. This event is HUGE in Houston and last approximately 3 weeks and contains something for everyone; Rodeo, Livestock animals, Petting Zoo, Calf Scramble, BBQ Cookoff, Carnival, Food, Shopping, Dancing, Scholarships, Fireworks, auctions, and much more. Each year, champion cowboys and cowgirls compete in the world’s richest regular-season PRCA rodeo. In 2008, contestants competed for a total purse of more than $1.3 million. The stakes get higher in 2009, where contestants will be riding and roping for more than $1.4 million in prize money. Winning a RODEOHOUSTON champion title is a big stride toward earning a paycheck that will lead a contestant to the NFR.

The Lone Star State hosts a colossal, Texas-sized picnic to launch the annual event; The World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest is three days of cooking, competition, eating and dancing. The judging is all business as teams vie for the coveted title of World’s Championship Bar-B-Que Contest Grand Champion. Trophies are awarded to teams preparing the best dish in each category (brisket, chicken and spare ribs) as well as an overall winner. 209,313 guests joined the feast in 2008 and it is always a party to remember!



The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's educational program is a significant part of the Show's mission — benefiting youth, supporting education, and facilitating better agricultural practices through exhibitions and presentation. Since that first scholarship in 1957, the Show has committed more than $130 million in direct educational program support.

Shopping is also a big deal! In this gigantic, one-of-a-kind Western shopping mall (Reliant Center) show patrons can purchase everything from Western clothes, fashion clothes, furniture, horse trailers, hot-tub spa's, gourmet food, unique arts and crafts, custom monogramming and agricultural machinery. All types of food can be found as well, from traditional barbecue to fine cuisine.

The carnival is Texas sized as-well and has a ride for everyone. You won’t want to miss a ride on La Grande Wheel — the Western Hemisphere’s largest portable Ferris wheel! The views are beautiful when sitting at the top of this giant Ferris wheel.

Oh, and I can not forget the talented line-up of country entertainers that that perform each night after the rodeo! The concerts are like non-of it's kind with a round rotating stage in the middle of the rodeo arena. Talk about 73,000 screaming fans in the audience; the sound is incredible!

My First Exciting Purchase of the Year

Introducing to you my proud new purchase from Target today and on sale might I add. I have been eying this buffet table for a long time now, probably around 6 or 7 months or so, and it finally went on sale for half off! I am so happy I decided to walk down that aisle. Words are beyond me on how excited I was to see it on sale. It sells for $249.00 on-line and $199.99 in store. Today I purchased it for $99.98!!! It will go so nicely in our breakfast room; I actually have two different spots where I can put it. I will post pictures as soon as I can get the hubs to put it together for me; that in itself is another task. I also plan to spray paint the hardware on it to a bronze or black color--the contemporary chrome is not too much my style.

Fabulous Friday

Ahhh...I love Fridays; they truly are Fabulous for plenty of reasons! Fridays for me are the end of the work week, payday, trying to remember what happened on Grey's Anatomy the night before because I most likely drank too much wine, the weekend is here, happy hour is calling my name (I can taste a cold Budlight already), dinner with friends or family and knowing that I get to sleep in the next morning! I do love Fridays!

On this particular Friday, I am especially excited because tomorrow I am going to the Nutcracker Market with 2 of my very good girlfriends for a Saturday filled with shopping, shopping and more shopping and laughing and eating good food! Below explains what the Nutcracker Market is all about.

Over 65,000 attendees with a strong passion to shop visited more than 300 national and international merchants, offering unique items for the entire family, including home décor, gourmet food, apparel, accessories, toys, garden items, and much more just in time for holiday shopping! Houston Ballet 's Nutcracker Market has become an annual tradition that kicks off the holiday season in Houston. Since 1981, the Nutcracker Market has contributed over $26 million to Houston Ballet Foundation to support its academy and scholarship programs, which nurture and develop young, promising dancers who have and will become the backbone of Houston Ballet. Currently more than 50% of the dancers in the company have received at least part of their training at Houston Ballet's Ben Stevenson Academy.